Travelers, Britain-natives react to terrorist attacks overseas

ATLANTA -- Attacks overseas have many on edge, but perhaps none more than travelers and British natives - including those in metro Atlanta.

One of the travelers who was in London all week said she felt so safe that the last thing she would have expected was another attack. But one British citizen said that with the number of attacks, she no longer feels safe at home.

"There's a lot of security around, especially after what happened," Darshini Mehta said.

Mehta was on the first flight out of the UK on Saturday night. She was there all week and felt surprisingly safe.

"All week long we saw just a lot of police patrolling around the tourist areas so we saw a lot of security," she said. "A lot of undercover security and a lot of police officers."

That increased security presence stemmed from the Manchester Attack outside of an Ariana Grande concert just two weeks before.

But for Lucy Rushton, the added security wasn't quite enough to make her feel comfortable in her home country.

"Someone driving a van down the street is something that's so difficult to stop and so that's the scary thing to me," Rushton said.

Rushton is from London but is in Atlanta on a work visa. She's the head of video and technical analysis for Atlanta United. She did not have any loved ones affected by Saturday's attacks but said the attacks have left her unsettled.

"I do feel certainly at the moment that the last couple of attacks and the last couple of weeks, people are really on edge and on guard about when the next one's going to be."

Rushton said she feels much safer in America.

"The levels of security in Atlanta, whether you go to a basketball game, a football match - the levels of security are just on a different level to that in England," she said.

She said metal detectors, bag screenings, and other security protocols are not the same across the pond and most of their police officers don't carry guns.

"You can go and watch one of the biggest football matches with 50 to 60,000 people," she said. "Go in and none of that type of security happens at those kind of events and that same for concerts."

With three attacks in as many months, Rushton believes her country is being targeted.

"It seems like there are so many people with those extremist views living in the country already," she said. "Over the past few years, people have been radicalized. Some of them choose to go to Libya and Syria and become trained."

On Sunday night, the hashtag "OneLoveManchester" is one of the trending topics on social media. Ariana Grande headlined a benefit concert for those affected by the suicide bomber attack on attendees of her previous performance.

The benefit concert featured other musical acts including Justin Beiber, Pharrell Williams, and ColdPlay - just a day after even more attacks slammed the region.

The benefit raised nearly $3 million within the first few hours and was held just two miles away from the Manchester Arena where 22 people died and 116 were injured.